That’s one reaction to the weekend’s headline-grabbing news. From the Christian Science Monitor: Vatican officials are insisting that Pope Benedict’s new remarks on condoms are not a change in church teaching on contraception. But initial reaction in Europe and among Roman Catholics here is that the first papal acknowledgment of condom use is an important…

Another nugget from the new book of interviews with Benedict: Pope Benedict has said in a new book that he is not opposed to the practice of receiving Communion in the hand. However he goes on to explain that he wants to encourage the reception of Communion on the tongue, kneeling, out of respect for…

… from Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi, about the whole condom thingy: Pope Benedict states that AIDs cannot be solved only by the distribution of condoms, and, in fact, concentrating on condoms just trivializes sexuality, which loses its meaning as an expression of love and becomes like a drug. At the same time, the Pope…

Over at America magazine’s blog, Austin Iverleigh has some intriguing background and analysis about the pope/condom story: The point argued by moral theologians was always this. The Church is opposed to artificial contraception, not condoms per se. Just as, in Humanae vitae, the Pill may be used for medical purposes (to prevent heavy bleeding, say),…

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